tastes just like the 90's.{ bolo de arroz: portuguese rice cake }

Bolos de Arroz, literally "rice cakes", are traditional Portuguese cupcakes, widely acknowledged as  a snack and not as a dessert. In Portugal, coffee is a formality after each and every single meal and it is drunk like a shot. The actual portuguese expression for drinking coffee is even - literally - 'taking coffee'. Yet the portuguese have a thing for coveting pastry trays while ordering their coffees, and when they lend more than two minutes to the act of washing them down, they might very well lower their voice a notch, gulp the guilt and order a Pastel de Nata or a Bolo de Arroz.

Usually served at breakfast and any time in the morning, while going out for an espresso after lunch, as an afternoon snack after school, but mostly appropriate for any occasion when hunger or a sweet tooth strike, these are nowadays probably one of the most simple, common and underrated cakes in the whole country.

I was curious to see if the batter would do well as a normal cake for slicing, so I decided to pour it into a loaf pan - and I have to say it worked just perfect. It is so simple to make it like this, that if you love Bolos de Arroz, or if you have never had one, you must try this recipe!

baked porridge or the ultimate comfort breakfast. { three baked porridge recipes }

A sweet comment from my friend Laura on my facebook page today got me to share these three baked porridge recipes with you!

By coincidence... it's her birthday!

picture perfect american style brunch. { golden brioche french toast with diced apple, stewed on whiskey-orange infused maple syrup }

brace yourselves,

the weekend is coming...

wait no longer - they're here and they're a handful. { three takes on the perfect thin, chewy and crisp cookie }

i know you've been waiting for this.

not one, not two, but THREE flavours of COOKIES.

and today i'm not even going to say much.

i am just going to say that you should definitely grab this recipe,

run to the kitchen, turn on your favourite music

- for me it was Hozier all along -

grab all the things you need

and just get your hands dirty with loads of butter and flour.

it will take a while, but it is, indeed,

totally worth it.

more on white sheets: tainted love { french toast, topped with banana and a silky berry sauce }

the most peaceful moment of the week.

i find safety in the dull white of these weekend mornings.

oh those winter mornings... { orange infused scones }

... when the white sheer curtains filter the cold and dull wintry light, slowly allowing it to drench the entire room, only to dilute its already washed out whiteness: from the rough snow coloured walls, on which a few thoughtfully lined up postcards hang, down to the lazy messy bulk of soft white sheets and blankets, covered in faded pink and blue blossoms.

oh how easily my heart tunes with the slow pace of these cold mornings, and how suddenly my mind is in total synchrony with the world, as if the light had somehow managed to creep in and wipe away all thoughts; oh how naturally inspiration comes to me, my eyes trying to catch all these textures and wrinkles within the soothing white wash, while at the same time I know it is just time to lay back and simply purify my mind.

weil manchmal bin ich in lebkuchen verliebt. { lebkuchen }

so you thought Christmas was over!?

well... not with me!

you know me, I still have loads of recipes to share - and I am not keeping them until next Christmas -the end.

especially not with such one handsome model as my middle brother!

two-thousand-fifteen! { spekulatius bundt cake with cranberries, orange and almond }

my handsome 'little' bros and me wish you a happy new year 2015!
by my dearest pretty little stories

i am sorry i haven't been posting lately.
truth is... it's not like i haven't been cooking!


you've seen what i've been doing in the kitchen - i cannot lie.
i've got plenty of inspiring recipes to share with you, which have accumulated to a dramatic point over the last month, while i kept running around thinking about loads of other stuff, not without bearing a guilty tiny corner of mind, squeezing and twisting over the postponed blogger work.
it's just that every time i come to Portugal there's so much stuff to do that i don't know where to turn to anymore, and time seems to slip between my fingers. when i finally find myself staring at my laptop's overly bright screen, it's most likely three in the morning and, despite the intensity of the light, i'm already having trouble keeping my eyes open.

in any case, i decided that even if i cannot find the right words - you have no clue how demanding i am with writting, particularly my own! - and even if there was no recipe attached, i would not keep myself from posting in the first day of the year... especially because this post was already meant for yesterday... uups!

about a birthday cake. { ombre chocolate cake with orange marmalade curd, frosted with ganache, pistachio and vanila-caramel buttercream }

i mostly like to talk, but is it okay if sometimes i don't feel like saying anything?

it was a really exhausting (though great) weekend!

made this cake for my birthday while watching my favourite series

and i had so much fun planning, baking and assembling the whole thing!

hope you enjoy it!

love, xoxo,

inês.

orange is the new plum. { rice pound cake with caramelized oranges }

I've had this plum streusel cake in my mind for over one week.

But for some reason that I cannot grasp, I never buy plums.

So yesterday I couldn't take the cooking cravings anymore, and the only fruit I had was oranges.

(I must recall that the supermarket is closed on Sunday here in Germany)

I really wanted to make a fruity dessert, but...

Oranges!?

Please...

Here I was, still dreaming of plums, raspberries, bluberries, and so on - even the ordinariness of apples! - to be left with oranges - which, unnervingly, are the faintest flavoured oranges I've ever bought.

Well... there is nothing like googling "orange dessert recipes" for inspiration, or so thought I.

I couldn't decide on a cake, still drooling over "berry streusel" pictures instead. Finally, I came to realize that it had to be what it had to be, and held my chin up facing the tennis-ball-shaped spheres on the counter.

 I think I'm going through a bad kitchen karma period.

After a first attempt to follow a recipe I found online (which I could already tell wouldn't work - why in the world did I even use it!?) and ending up with a butter-egg float batter... (really -.- this has got to be bad kitchen karma), already mad, but not quite to throw in the towel (after all, I already had the perfect caramelized oranges), I decided to do things my own way, and the cake finally came out pretty nice :)

The best part is... the first bite of this cake instantly reminded me of crêpes suzette, my ever favourite among my father's few staple dessert recipes (though he would do them without alcohol - we were three kids at home!). They still are one of my favourite desserts, maybe even top five - and, oddly enough, they have got orange.

when it crumbles... { plum grape crumble }

Having a hard time deciding what to write here today.

(...)

Should we food bloggers always combine a recipe with a funny story about it, or about our lives?

(Hmm)

Well, there are many reasons why I choose to bake/cook what I choose to bake/cook... like:

a) I want to eat that specific thing... as in... right - NOW.

b) I saw this thing on (insert website/blog/magazine/book/...) and I can't get it out of my head.

c) I have some (insert edible things here) going stale that I need to get rid of.

d) There is a (insert social event here) coming up - you can find me thinking about new recipes weeks ahead, especially if I'm hosting.

e) I just really feel like cooking/baking, which is not easy to distinguish from: 

f) I am bored and cooking/baking is such a great hobbie! (usually followed by oh no, do I have to eat all this now?!)

g) I have a food blog which I can't neglect - and new ideas coming up.

h) Someone asked me to!

i) I am procrastinating and so I really need to cook/bake (insert wild cooking/baking project here).

j) Several or all of the above.

(I may have forgotten some reasons, but I thing I got the most important covered.)

So this crumble was definitely a j, a mix between a, c, e, f and i (although it is not that wild, but I was, indeed, procrastinating.) It really is nothing out of the ordinary, but this fruit combo is a winner and the oats top it perfectly. And it is sooo easy to do... Hope you enjoy it - and maybe use this recipe to fulfill the same purposes :)

french turned english ♥ { english breakfast french toast }

(So September is here...

or so they say,

... to me it feels like November!

freaking cold, a homogeneous and thick layer of clouds covering the whole sky, the whole day...

really?

I feel like I had no summer this year: August was work and rain all the way.)

Ok. On to the recipe.

overnight oats #2 | the arroz doce { cinnamon-orange spiced overnight oats }

How I hate when blogger messes up with the pictures' colours! Why are they turning red today!?...

Bringing you a new overnight oats jar ;) I'll keep them coming if you'ld like!

Overnight Oats #2
The Arroz Doce. Cinnamon, Orange and Ginger Infusion
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup 0.8% milk
- 1 tbsp orange marmalade with ginger
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1) Mix everything well in a jar, close and refrigerate overnight (around 4-8 hours will do),
2) When serving, shake well before opening. If desired, warm up in the microwave. Sprinkle with cinnamon and, if desired, some chopped banana for a fruity touch.

one brownie with a twist. { malibú fudgy brownies }

I know you haven't seen them all...

But I've seen them raising in the oven...
and I have this feeling I've been baking way too many chocolate cakes.

These brownies were made by request.

I was actually not even going to do them, because I kept postponing it and ended up being too busy with other stuff that day... but I was feeling bad for the whole afternoon, until I finally gave in and decided to go chop some chocolate.

I took the liberty of improvising a bit lot (the request was quite specific for this brownie batter), but I guess I was able to still meet the wishes of my friend ;) They travelled to a barbecue early this week and no one has seen them ever since!

Brownies Malibú Fudge

- 200g de chocolate 70% de cacau

- 120g de manteiga

- 120 ml de café frio

- 3 ovos M

- 120g de açúcar

- 50g de farinha

- uma pitada de pimenta, piri-piri e gengibre em pó

- 200g de doce de laranja com raspas

- 2 colheres de sopa de coco ralado

- 1 colher de sopa de gin

1) Derreter o chocolate com a manteiga em banho maria; deixar arrefecer,

2) Bater os ovos com o açúcar até obter uma mistura cremosa e esbranquiçada,

3) Envolver suavemente a farinha peneirada,

4) Incorporar o chocolate derretido e o café,

5) À parte, misturar bem o doce, o coco e o gin,

6) Verter a massa numa forma rectangular forrada com papel vegetal, distribuir pequenas colheradas de doce por cima e levar ao forno a 160ºC durante cerca de 15 minutos,

7) Deixar arrefecer e cortar em pequenos quadrados.

Malibú Fudgy Brownies

- 200g 70% cocoa chocolate

- 120g butter

- 120 ml cold coffee

- 3 medium eggs

- 120g sugar

- 50g flour

- pepper, chili and ginger powder

- 200g orange marmalade

- 2 shredded coconut

- 1 tbsp gin

1) Melt chocolate with butter in a pan placed over another pan with simmering water; let cool,

2) Cream eggs and sugar,

3) Carefully mix in flour,

4) Mix in melted chocolate and coffee,

5) In a bowl, mix well the marmalade, coconut and gin,

6) Pour the batter over a rectangular cake pan, lined with parchment paper; spread the jam over and bake at 160ºC for about 15 minutes,

7) Let cool and cut into small squares.

blueberry bliss... in a cake. { blueberry orange pound cake with vanilla glaze }

Baking, baking, baking... you're all invited for tea!

I think I may have found my most recent favourite yellow cake recipe (heart)

Pound Cake de Mirtilhos e Laranja com Glacé de Baunilha

- 125g de manteiga

- 125g de açúcar

- 125g de farinha

- 125 ml de buttermilk

- 1 colher de chá de fermento

- 1/2 colher de chá de sal

- 2 colheres de sopa de orange marmalade

- 2 ovos

- 150g de mirtilhos

- 1/2 chávena de açúcar em pó

- 2 colheres de sopa de leite

- baunilha moída e gotas de aroma de baunilha

1) Bater bem a manteiga com o açúcar e o doce até obter uma mistura cremosa homogénea,

2) Acrescentar os ovos um a um, batendo entre adições,

3) Misturar a farinha, o fermento e o sal,

4) Com um fouet, incorporar à vez parte do buttermilk e parte da farinha,

5) Com uma espátula, envolver os mirtilhos cuidadosamente,

6) Verter numa forma de bolo inglês ou de bundt cake untada e levar ao forno a 170ºC cerca de 40 minutos,

7) Desenformar e deixar arrefecer; entretanto, misturar bem os ingredientes do glacé,

8) Verter o glacé sobre o bolo de forma irregular, deixando escorrer para os lados.

Blueberry Orange Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze

- 125g butter

- 125g sugar

- 125g flour

- 125 ml buttermilk

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp orange marmalade

- 2 eggs

- 150g blueberries

- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

- 2 tbsp milk

- ground vanilla and vanilla aroma drops

1) Cream butter, sugar and jam,

2) Add eggs one by one, beating between additions,

3) Mix flour, baking powder and salt together,

4) Alternately mix the flour and the buttermilk into the egg mixture,

5) Carefully fold in the blueberries,

6) Pour into a greased english or pound cake mould and bake at 170ºC for about 40 minutes,

7) Unmould, let cool; meanwhile prepare the glaze, mixing all ingredients,

8) Pour glaze over the cake; it should run down the sides of the cake here and there.

sipping summer { alcohol-free strawberry sangria }

I know, I know... I've been away for too long.
Please forgive me, for these last months have mostly been a whiteout when it comes to the kitchen.
From nothing-worth-mentioning lunches in a rush at any small eating place around the uni - or even at the studio whilst staring at models or plans - to going out for dinner or just-a-beer-with-bread-or-fries - because we're all always running out of time but still feel the need to stop and connect with other human beings -, cooking worth blogging about has been aside for a while, and my pans have holded pasta with vegetables around 50% of the time, the remaining share being hold by water for tea. As I've mentioned before, I get way too bored and demotivated cooking and eating by myself. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time have been mixed up on a wholewheat-bread-with-quark-and-smoked-salmon bliss, which I share with my favourite series' characters, seldom not going for seconds - both on the smoked salmon and on the episodes.
Plus, my Iphone camera is somewhat broken and I have no other camera I can use on a regular basis, which takes blogging to a whole new level of impossibility.
However, this is something very important to me that has been missing in my life, and I think I would like to have it back. So I will anyway try to keep it going - an excuse for having guests more often! -, I still have a few recipes unpublished and I was also able to gather a few brand new ones already... Let's see how it goes (:
Thank you for being there all the time, thank you so much for you support and a special thanks to all the people who, even though not knowing me so well, personally encouraged me to come back.

Sangria de Morangos
(sem álcool)

- 300g de morangos, lavados e sem pé

- sumo de 5 laranjas

- 250ml de água com gás, fresca

- 150ml de água, fresca

- 80g de açúcar

- 20g de açúcar mascavado

- gelo q.b.

- 1/2 laranja, cortada em fatias finas
- folhas de hortelã

Num blender, reduzir os morangos a puré com o açúcar, reservando quatro ou cinco,

Misturar a água e o sumo de laranja com o puré de morango,

Numa jarra de vidro grande, colocar o gelo, os restantes morangos cortados em metades, as fatias de laranja e a hortelã,

Deitar o sumo na jarra, misturar tudo e servir.

Strawberry Sangria
(alcohol-free version)

- 300g strawberries, rinsed and cut tops

- 5 oranges juice

- 250ml sparkling water, cold

- 150ml water, cold

- 80g sugar

- 20g light brown sugar

- ice

- 1/2 orange, thinly sliced
- mint leaves

In a blender, process the strawberries with the sugar, leaving four or five aside,

Mix the water and orange juice in the strawberry puree,

Cut the remaining strawberries in halves and place in a big glass jar with the ice and mint leaves,

Pour the juice over, mix and serve.

Chocolate Overtake { tender three chocolates cake squares with nutella }

After all there was another cake. This time a chocolate one, photos taken right before the departure.

No sábado fizemos um churrasco no jardim de casa de uns amigos, do qual farei um post de fotografias. Foi muito bom, muito divertido e o espaço era incrível!

Last saturday we made a barbecue in some friends' backyard, it was a great afternoon/evening, we had so much fun and the setting was perfect! I shall post some photos later!

Prontinhos para levar para o Porto:

Ready to ride to Oporto:

Quadrados Fofos de Cacau com Nutella e Pedaços de Três Chocolates
Receita:
Seguir esta receita, com as seguintes modificações:
- não colocar baunilha,
- roubar à farinha para juntar 3 a 5 colheres de sopa de cacau ou chocolate em pó,
- em vez da cobertura de doce, misturar, em banho maria, nutella com Vinho do Porto,
- picar grosseiramente 50g de chocolate negro de culinária, 50g de chocolate de leite e 50g chocolate branco (usei pantagruel, milka, pantagruel),
- espalhar a nutella e os pedaços de chocolate sobre o bolo na altura em que se espalharia o doce,
- cortei com um fio metálico de cortar bolos, também aconselho fio de pesca,
- deixar arrefecer bastante antes de cortar, para que o chocolate não escorra


Tender Cocoa Squares with Nutella and Three Chocolates
Recipe:
Follow this recipe, with the following modifications:
- skip the vanilla,
- substitute 3 to 5 tbsp of the flour with the same amount cocoa or chocolate powder,
- instead of the jam, mix nutella with Port Wine over bain-marie,
- coarsely chop 50g of each chocolate: dark, milk and white
- spread nutella and chopped chocolate over the cake at the time you'ld spread the jam,
- cut with a stainless steel thread or fishing thread,
- let cool well before cutting, so the chocolate pieces won't break and spread

Tender Tasty Squares { tender orange cake squares with raspberry jam }

Bem... isto era para ser uma surpresa para amanhã, mas como vou voltar à rotina e à falta de tempo para internets... cá vai :)

Well... this was supposed to be a surprise for tomorrow, but since I'm coming back to my daily routine and to my usual lack of time... here it goes :)

 

Quadrados Fofos de Laranja com Doce de Framboesa

Ingredientes:

- 5 ovos

- 200g de açúcar

- 150g de farinha

- 75g de maizena

- 1 colher de chá bem cheia de fermento

- sumo de uma laranja

- uma ou duas pitadas de noz moscada moída

- 1 colher de chá de aroma de baunilha

- ½ frasco de doce de framboesa (ou outro)

- 1 colher de sopa de Licor Beirão

Preparação:

1) Forrar uma forma quadrada de bolos com papel vegetal,

2) Pré-aquecer o forno a 180ºC com ventoinha,

3) Bater as claras em castelo com uma pitada de sal,

4) Bater as gemas com o açúcar,

5) Juntar a baunilha, o sumo de laranja e a noz moscada e bater,

6) Incorporar as farinhas e o fermento, peneirados,

7) Incorporar as claras sem as esmagar,

8) Levar ao forno durante cerca de 20/30 min,

9) Bater o doce com o licor com a ajuda de um garfo, abrir o forno e espalhar aleatoriamente sobre o bolo,

10) Picar com um garfo ou palito para o doce entrar no bolo, deixar mais 5/10 minutos no forno,

11) Retirar, desenformar e deixar arrefecer no papel vegetal,

12) Cortar em quadrados e colocar num prato de servir,

13) Polvilhar com açúcar em pó (opcional) antes de servir.

Tender Orange Squares with Raspberry Jam

Ingredientes:

- 5 eggs

- 200g sugar

- 150g flour

- 75g cornstarch

- 1 big tsp baking powder

- juice of one orange

- 1 or 2 pinches ground nutmeg

- 1 tsp vanilla

- ½ cup raspberry jam (or other fruit jam)

- 1 tbsp Licor Beirão (or another orange/vanilla flavoured liquor)

Preparation:

1) Line a square baking pan with parchment paper,

2) Heat the oven at 180ºC,

3) Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form,

4) Beat egg yolks and sugar,

5) Add the vanilla, juice and nutmeg and beat again,

6) Sift in the flour, baking powder and cornstarch,

7) Fold in the egg whites,

8) Place in the middle rack of the oven for 20/30 min,

9) Beat jam and liquor with a fork, open the oven and draw abstract lines over the cake,

10) Puncture with a fork or toothpick so the jam penetrates the cake and let another 5/10 minutes in the oven,

11) Take out, unmould and let cool in the paper,

12) Cut into squares and place in a serving plate,

13) Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving (optional).